I'm back in DC, having spent 11 wonderful days in Madrid, Barcelona, and cruising across the Mediterranean to Pisa, Florence, Rome, the coast south of Naples, and Mallorca. Needless to say, while I checked in on the news back home from time to time and tweeted an item or two if the timing was right, I wasn't following developments closely, and I'm pretty out of the blogging groove at this point. So I'm going to start back slowly with some easy items.

* Redistricting: The city council voted Tuesday to approve a redistricting map that, as expected, keeps Near Southeast in Ward 6. This continues to make Marion Barry extremely unhappy, and the Examiner reports that he'll be "asking U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to open a Justice Department review of proposed new D.C. ward boundaries because, Barry says, they violate residents' civil rights." There's still a final vote to be had on the plan, probably on June 21. As for the last-minute changes that ended up keeping much of Ward 6 intact (moving Reservation 13 to Ward 7 instead of other areas), you can read Tommy Wells's blog for more details.

* Riverwalk: The Navy Yardannounced last week that its portion of the riverwalk along the Anacostia River, running from the 11th Street Bridges to the Yards Park, will now be open from 5:30 am until "official sunset," seven days a week and including holidays; though there will still be closures as needed, which are announced on the Navy Yard Riverwalk Twitter feed. (I admit that I got a bit of a kick passing along this news via Twitter while riding on a train north of Rome.)

* DPW Move: The council passed emergency technical legislation on Tuesday that allows Capper PILOT funds to be used to build a new location for DPW operations in Northeast, which means that they should be moving from the 2nd and K site this fall (before "leaf season").

* Ward 6 Family Day: Tommy Wells's yearly event for Ward 6 residents will be held on Saturday, June 25, and will be at the Yards Park for the first time. It's from 1 to 5 pm, with "free food, live music, games and activities for the whole family as well as raffles featuring gift certificates from local businesses and sporting memorabilia from the Wizards, DC United and Washington Nationals."

* ANC 6D has its next meeting on Monday, June 13, at 7 pm at Arena Stage. The agenda is light on Near Southeast items, with only a resolution by David Garber about Near Southeast bike stations and requests by Cornercopia and Harry's Reserve to be exempted from the ban on the sale of "singles."

* Food Truck Festival: Bo Blair, the owner of the Bullpens and the organizer of Truckeroo on June 3, said in an e-mail that the event was a "massive, incredible success," with somewhere between 17,000 and 18,000 attendees and "zero problems." The next date for the event will be announced soon.

* Construction and Destruction: Construction has stalled on the Little Red Building v2.0 at 2nd and L, which ANC commissioner Garber says is a "building permit issue that is in process of being resolved - construction should start back 'soon.'" Meanwhile, the "re-dressing" of 225 Virginia is well underway, with the new exterior walls being hung on the north side of the building. And if it hasn't already happened, the trailer that was the original sales office for Capitol Quarter is being torn down, since construction of townhouses is now underway on that block. (Photos to come, at some point.)

UPDATE: And, since this just came across Twitter: Dan Steinberg reports that Shake Shack and the other new Nats Park restaurants will open next Tuesday, the beginning of the homestand vs. the Cardinals.

Bruce says: (6/8/11 12:15 PM)Hope u had a good time.
I am not a fan of selling "singles" Period.

Bruce says: (6/8/11 12:18 PM)Yes, The EYA trailer is officially gone. It is the end of an era (so to speak) as some of us recall waiting overnight way back in October 2006. We sat in a circle and made runs to 7-11. The cops came by and thought we were picketing something. When we told them what we were doing, they came by every 1/2 hour. MPD was great and the area has changed so much since then.
JD (I have pics...lol)..

Eric says: (6/8/11 12:30 PM)Too many people at the Food Truck festival. I live right next to the area and couldn't get food after work because there were so many people.

They need to seriously get more trucks or have less people attend. I got really frustrated that there's a big event in my hood and I can't even enjoy it because the lines were way too long (waited 1.5 hours until closing, didn't get food).

Andrew in DC says: (6/8/11 1:20 PM)70 ounces or less defines a "single" - virtually an entire six-pack. So we can sell a 750 ml bottle of Popov Vodka but not a 750ml bottle of Chimay?

I'm not sure I see how a ban is helping in that regard...

Bruce says: (6/8/11 1:42 PM)We also buy single bottles of wine, but i dont think that is the issue.

Andrew in DC says: (6/8/11 3:07 PM)@Bruce: The objective of the ban is to deter homeless alcoholics from buying 40 oz of malt liquor, which then (according to the argument) get left as litter on the streets along with their urine and their too-drunk-to-move bodies.

What's unclear to me is that this plan actually works. If I can get a fifth of cheap vodka, which is as paper-baggable as a 40 for roughly the same price ($9 vs. $5 for a 40? ... I'm ball-parking this, it's been a while since I priced Popov or 40s) - then have we achieved our teetotal-ling or our cleanliness goals?

Meanwhile, the negative side-effect of this ban is to prevent law-abiding, socially responsible citizens from purchasing perfectly legal products because of the way the ban has to be worded in order to be "effective". We can't stop "Steel Reserve" without catching Chimay in our nets.

So the "issue" then, is whether the objectives of the ban are a) worthy and b) demonstrably achievable and then weighing that against the inconvenience of having to drive to Virginia to purchase one's beverage of choice.

To that end, I'd love to read some data on whether such a ban actually affects local behavior in a positive manner.

SW says: (6/8/11 3:14 PM)"Meanwhile, the negative side-effect of this ban is to prevent law-abiding, socially responsible citizens from purchasing perfectly legal products because of the way the ban has to be worded in order to be 'effective.' We can't stop "Steel Reserve" without catching Chimay in our nets."

Yep, the ban is both discriminatory and ineffective. Near SE and SW is still littered with trash every day, including single servings. What keeps cockles of people like Bruce and his ilk warm is that they think it keeps poor people out of his neighborhood. Which is false.

not sure how tommy wells pulled off keeping near SE and hill east in ward six, i thought hill east was a goner for sure. he even kept rosedale, picked up the commercial parts of SW (everything below the mall) that were not in ward six and most of shaw! he's going to be a very busy man.

that sound we heard a few days ago may have been the residents of kingman park smacking their foreheads simultaneously. not only did the neighborhood, which unsuccessfully sued over their move to ward 7 ten years ago, not get moved back into ward 6, they did not even see any of their adjacent hill east comrades join them in ward 7!

ps - yes to lifting the singles ban, for reasons of constitutionality, fairness and chimay.

Shut Justin's says: (6/9/11 7:56 PM)Delayed construction and truck food?
What exactly the BID charging me the tax for?
Justin's is a mediocre restaurant with disgusting food, expensive beer and ridiculously poor service. This place is surviving because it is the only place in the area. We need some more restaurants and bars as soon as possible. Stop blaming poor economy, there isn't any recession in the DC area any more. I want to see Justin place gone. It is horrible. Well, considering 90 percent of restaurants they don't survive on their first year..Justin's only survived because it is the only place to go to. I would never go there if there were other places to go to.

I have to say I find the regular help there to be extremely friendly, and I enjoy the food.

That said, it's not the most varied menu, and more choices in the neighborhood would be nice, but Barracks row is an easy walk.

I don't see how you can blame Justin's for the lack of choice in the neighborhood. Given how the economy was when he decided to open, I would say he took quite a gamble, and am grateful to have the option to eat there.

Wow...

Bruce says: (6/10/11 9:50 AM)Justin, is a nice guy and he took quite a chance when he opened that place.
I think the food is good and it is a great local place to go have a beer and pizza or a salad.
The staff is great and I hope he is in business for a long time.

Ben in SE says: (6/10/11 12:14 PM)I have to wonder if I am the luckiest Justin's patron in the world or if my standards of food quality and customer service are just incredibly low. I enjoy their menu (though I agree a few new items would be great) and have never had a bad experience with the staff.

wd says: (6/10/11 1:24 PM)Ben in SE - if not the luckiest in the world... close.

I really want to like Justin's but it's mediocre at best. I do hope he/it stays though, at least until the competition puts him out of business.

Shut Justin's says: (6/10/11 1:57 PM)YUP, a lots of unsatisfied former customers.
I will be a very happy person once Justin is out of business.
As a matter of fact I will take this very far. I will start a site that says www.boycottJustin's-shithole.com.

Andrew in DC says: (6/10/11 3:22 PM)Haters gonna hate... and then they're going to hoof it up to Penn or 8th. And while they're finding other uses for the pent-up energy they use to write rants, let's hope they spend some on a dictionary looking up the definition of "boycott". Here's a hint: you can't boycott something you already abhor and avoid.

And Ben - not quite the luckiest - I've patronized Justin's pretty regularly since it opened and I've never had a bad experience with the staff nor their food. Justin's is pretty solid and I'm glad to have him in the neighborhood.

JD says: (6/10/11 3:37 PM)I guess we're having this conversation because there's no big news in the neighborhood today, like a historic ADAPTIVE REUSE building announcing the date of pre-leasing of its apartments, the first new residential building coming on-line in over two years....

That being said, Justin is a great guy and the servers are always friendly (and cute) despite being overworked. The happy hour specials ain't bad.

I hope Justin's Cafe stays in business for a very long time, but more competition is better for all of us (including Justin's).

Eric says: (6/10/11 9:31 PM)And holy crap, people pay that for RENT? My mortgage over at Velocity is less than that rent!

Shut Justin's says: (6/11/11 12:31 PM)I was walking by justin's this morning walking my Tibetan mastiff dog and I saw rats inside the restaurant. Yeah, a big ass rats...two of them. Justin's is very dirty place. I heard some of my friend who ate at the place and they got really sick and they had to go to emergency room. DO NOT EAT AT THIS DIRTY PLACE. It is time this place need to go out of business.

Andrew in DC says: (6/12/11 12:31 AM)@SJ - its cute because you still believe you're a credible source. If you were here, i'd pinch your cheeks.

Eric says: (6/12/11 4:22 PM)I bet you SJ tried to hit on one of the servers and got rejected. Now he mad.

THE SCOPE OF WORK FOR THE 1233 1ST ST SE SUBMISSION IS THE CORE AND SHELL ONLY OF A NEW 12 STORY BUILDING. THE APPROXIMATELY 127 200 SF BUILDING IS INTENDED TO BE A HOTEL. THE FUTURE INTERIOR FIT-OUT WILL BE SUBMITTED SEPARATELY. THE BUILDING WILL SIT ON TOP OF GROUND FLOOR RETAIL / LOBBY LEVEL SUBMITTED AS PART OF A SEPARATE SUBMISSION FOR 1277 1ST ST SE.

1277 1ST ST SE

03/25/15
BALLPARK RESIDENTIAL LLC / BALL PARK SQUARE LLC

B1403488 /
CONSTRUCTION

THE SCOPE OF WORK FOR THE 1277 1ST ST SE SUBMISSION INCLUDES 2 LEVELS OF BELOW GRADE PARKING TOTALING 370-380 PARKING SPACES A GROUND FLOOR RETAIL / LOBBY / LOADING LEVEL WITH APPROXIMATELY 26 500 SF OF RETAIL AND AN APPROXIMATELY 304 000 SF 13 STORY APARTMENT BUILDING CONTAINING APPROXIMATELY 326 UNITS.

1299 1ST ST SE

03/16/15
BALL PARK SQUARE LLC / PHYLLIS STEVENS

B1403487 /
CONSTRUCTION

THE SCOPE OF WORK FOR THE 1299 1ST ST SE SUBMISSION IS THE CORE AND SHELL OF A NEW APPROXIMATELY 7 600 SF 2 STORY RETAIL BUILDING WITH A SINGLE BASEMENT LEVEL. THE BUILDING IS INTENDED TO BE A RESTAURANT. THE FUTURE INTERIOR FIT-OUT WILL BE PERMITTED SEPARATELY.

909 HALF ST SE

03/26/15 23 I LLC / WAYNE REEP; 23 I LLC; WAYNE REEP

E37408577 /
SUPPLEMENTAL

1015 HALF ST SE

03/17/15
BON CHON / PHILIP GODAIRE; BON CHON; PHILIP GODAIRE

P42469697 /
SUPPLEMENTAL

03/17/15
EVAN OBRIEN / JOSEPH ABRESCH; EVAN OBRIEN; ROBERT HUNSBERGER

E74054014 /
SUPPLEMENTAL

03/25/15
HALF ST SE LLC / GEORGE DELGADO

B1501688 /
CONSTRUCTION

INTERIOR ALTERATION TO 3 4 5 FLOORS AND PARTIAL 6TH FLOOR. WORK TO INCLUDE ELECTRICAL MECHANICAL AND PLUMBING

REPLACEMENT OF NOT MORE THAN 1 GAS APPLIANCE ON A RESIDENTIAL COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL PROJECT.

1111 NEW JERSEY AVE SE

03/19/15
NJA ASSOCIATES LLC / THOMAS P MCGUIRE

E1504215 /
SUPPLEMENTAL

25 POTOMAC AVE SE

03/18/15
RIVERFRONT HOLDINGS I LLC / GLENNWOOD ROGERS

P1504172 /
SUPPLEMENTAL

301 WATER ST SE

03/13/15
FOREST CITY / FVI 2020

TL1500054 /
CONSTRUCTION

NEW RESTAURANT TENANT LAYOUT AT THE LUMBER SHED PARCEL FOR AN OYSTER BAR WITH 55 INTERIOR SEATS (55 AT 1ST LEVEL AND 30 AT MEZZANINE) 10 STAFF AND 38 OUTDOOR SUMMER GARDEN SEATING.

03/13/15
FC LUMBER SHED LLC / FLACK

TL1500055 /
CONSTRUCTION

FULL SERVICE RESTAURANT LOCATED ON THE GROUND FLOOR WITH A TOTAL NUMBER OF SEATS OF 170. INDOORS SEATING IS 86 OUTDOORS SEATING IS 84 ALL OUTDOOR SEATS ARE LOCATED ON PRIVATE PROPERTY. TOTAL OCCUPANT LOAD OF 189 WHICH INCLUDES 19 STAFF.